Health Survey Shows LCUSD Students Doing Well, But There Are Problem Areas

The results of a student health and safety survey were presented to the La Cañada Unified School District Board of Governors on Tuesday evening and while the youths generally did better than their counterparts statewide, the survey noted a few areas that need to be looked into.

Lindi Dreibelbis Arthur, director of Assessment, Research and Consolidated Programs for the LCUSD, presented the findings of the survey, called the California Healthy Kids Survey, in which students in grades 5,7, 9 and 11 were asked questions about alcohol and drug use, school safety and violence on campus and if the schools, teachers and programs were meeting their needs.

The students were tested in the spring and were allowed to give their answers anonymously. Their answers were compared with answers from a previous LCUSD survey taken in 2000 and with a statewide survey conducted in 2001.

Arthur said the survey was conducted with five goals in mind - to reduce risk behaviors and promote well-being and positive development, promote learning, demonstrate accountability, meet funding requirements and to promote health programs and community support.

Fifth grade results found that 90 percent or more of the students used little or no tobacco or drugs, found their school environment safe and violence free and dealt with teachers and other adults who cared about them and how they performed in school.

The only area where fifth graders' answers dipped was concerning opportunities for meaningful participation at their school. Fifteen percent of the students indicated that they weren't allowed to make class rules or choose what to do at school as often as they wanted.

The results for grades 7, 9 and 11 tended to become more negative as the students got older. "Juniors were more heavily engaged in negative behavior than younger classmates," Arthur told the board.

While alcohol, drugs and tobacco usage stayed fairly low for seventh graders and freshmen, it doubled for juniors, the survey showed. Nearly 30 percent of juniors surveyed said they drank alcohol in the last 30 days, 16 percent said they drank five drinks in a couple of hours, 16 percent indicated they smoked a cigarette and 12 percent said they smoked marijuana. Arthur did inform the board that the students' responses in these areas were below the state average.

In terms of safety, less than 10 percent of students in the three grades surveyed said they felt unsafe at their schools.